


Let The Sun Back Into Your Life

by Dyslexic_linguist



Series: Brightmoon Parks and Recreation (AU) [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Minor Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra), Mutual Pining, Partner Betrayal, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24490939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyslexic_linguist/pseuds/Dyslexic_linguist
Summary: Sometimes, Catra can’t believe she and Adora get along as well as they do. How the sunny, optimistic, dumb blond liked her snarky, nihlistic self was always a mystery. So she was even more surprised (and a little touched) when Adora confessed to her that she didn’t just like the goth chick - she was in love with her.Thankfully, she wasn’t that much of a lovestruck idiot to immediately accept her confession, especially since Adora admitted to kissing her sparkly ex just days after claiming that she “didn’t have any more feelings for Glimmer.”Well, it didn’t matter anymore. No matter how much Adora would do to win her forgiveness, regardless of Glimmer’s defence of Adora’s actions, despite Huntara’s advice that she was making a mistake, she was never letting the sun back into her life.(Never)
Relationships: Adora & Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Huntara (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Huntara (She-Ra)
Series: Brightmoon Parks and Recreation (AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769185
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	Let The Sun Back Into Your Life

Catra hated the sun.

She never understood why the blind sheep of Brightmoon would enjoy going out in the blistering summer heat, tanning on the beach, enjoying picnics on the open field or willingly _choose_ to run laps in 87 degree weather ( _seriously Scorpia?_ ). In her (correct) opinion, the sun was a no good burning ball of gas that served only to make her fur sticky and leave embarrassing sweat stains at her armpits. She’d much rather it rain, or even better _flood_ \- there was a beauty in the powerful rolling thunder and crackling lightning. 

Her liking for people took a similar stance. She never really got along with the "smiley" types like her superior Glimmer - they all seemed to have an air of inauthenticity to them, and were more inclined to care for their _own_ happiness and forcing it onto others, regardless of what her actual feelings were and if she _wanted_ to be happy. "Rainy" people, on the hand, tended to be more reliable. They might be slumps and grouches, but at least they were _honest_ slumps and grouches. She was thankful her boss was one of those rainy types - while not one for "emotional conversation", Huntara spoke with bluntness and clarity that Catra could appreciate. Also, the fact she, a _libertarian_ , was working as the head of Brightmoon's Park and Recreation Department - a _government_ position - was fucking hilarious to Catra.

As an added bonus, it meant she gave Catra a wide breadth of freedom in her secretary responsibilities, not even batting an eye if she showed up two hours late and hungover, so long as she got her work done on time. And since there was very little work for her in the first place, even with her tardiness Catra found herself with lots of time to kill and a lack of like-minded idiots to fool around with. 

Perhaps that was why she started hanging out with the sunniest person she ever met. Actually, that was incorrect - it was Adora who started hanging out with _her_ , and Catra just rolled her eyes and tolerated her presence. And that tolerance eroded away into an ironic fondness - the blond was true to her stereotype, a real fucking blue-eyed idiot who was wholeheartedly ready to get down with any of Catra's dumb suggestions. She still had a chuckle whenever the memory of Adora showing up to work with a _terrible_ spray tan after her lunch break with Catra - Glimmer had flipped out, but the blond defended Catra.

"Oh no, I wanted to do it." She had insisted to a raging Glimmer, who was pulling at the strands of her dyed pink hair while an amused Huntara hid her smile as she sipped her coffee in silence. "Catra just mentioned hearing about the offer at the tanning salon. I was the one who insisted we go. I mean-" the jock pulled up her shorts, showing off her orange thighs. "-the tan line isn't _that_ bad, especially for five bucks!"

(It was).

In a way, her innocence was enduring. Catra could tell how the shoeshine girl had twice captured the heart of Glimmer, once when they were enrolled in high school together, and briefly when they met each other again in the same government building. Of all the places to set up a shoeshine stall in, Glimmer had mused, but it made a surprising amount of sense - especially by Adora’s standards. Government employees do, in the blond's words, "want shiny shoes".

Apparently it was exactly this kind of laid-back behaviour that drove Glimmer to break up with Adora both times. She had hoped the blond would enroll into university with her, or maybe even join the police academy given her strong sense of justice and kind heart. But Adora had decided not to pursue higher education, content with bouncing from odd job to odd job, and sometimes not working at all, burning up free time busking around the park for spare change. Personally, Catra didn't understand why Glimmer would care so much about Adora's life choices - if the blue eyed girl was happy shining shoes and strumming her guitar on her (many) breaks, then more power to her.

And boy, was Adora happy. Her joyful nature should have been grating to Catra, but strangely, it just made the blond grow on her. Maybe it was because Adora was too much of an idiot to be insincere - she really was just pumped up on that much dopamine, and took genuine joy in little things most "sunny" people wouldn't bat an eye at. She couldn't help but smile, remembering how bright her face got when she gave the blond spare change to buy two candies from the sweet store. Adora had practically raced to the confectionery shop, returning with two giant bags of marshmallows. ("It still counts as two." The blond had defended, as they spent the entire afternoon throwing the fluffy sweets into each other's mouth.) 

Perhaps what Catra respected the most about Adora was that unlike other "sunny" people, she never dictated what the feline should do or how she should feel. Instead, she made Catra happy through her own actions, and was more than willing to tone down her joy if it meant Catra felt less alone. Once, when she was having one of her low days, sulking about and eating her cold chicken sandwich, the usually star-eyed blond had instantly piped down upon seeing her forlorn gaze, sitting next to her and letting the cat rest against her back as she strummed a quiet tune on her guitar. That was the second time Catra had cried in front of anyone (the first was her grandmother, and she made her look like an idiot when she did beat cancer).

She hadn't quite realised how much she liked the shoeshine girl, until one day when Adora had waved to her as she walked past her office. Once the blond passed, her colleague Mermista set upon her, pointing out the unconscious smile she had on her lips and the slight blush she wore on her cheeks. She had been mortified, and threatened to cut up the accountant's body and throw the parts into the park's lake if she told a single soul. Despite her harsh denial of a crush, ever since that moment Catra couldn't help but to see Adora in a new, well, more flattering light. She swore she could hear Mermista's waggling eyebrows each time the blond popped into the office to chat with her, and she would pull on her hoodie strings, hoping if she shrunk into the jacket no one could tell how much those blue eyes were _killing_ her.

But then Glimmer would pass by and give a quick hello to her ex, and those warm feelings in her heart would be replaced by a sharp pain. It didn't matter how many times she saw the faraway look Adora had in her eyes whenever her pink haired ex entered the room, it never ceased to hurt. Even though they had broken up more than six months ago, Adora still seemed to have a hint of a crush on Glimmer. Catra couldn't make head or tail of it. Her supervisor clearly wasn't interested in the shoeshine gal anymore, despite whatever they had in the past, and had moved on with her life. Adora didn't deserve to make herself suffer for someone who couldn't appreciate who she was, even if she did have _great, poofy hair_ and an _amazing_ set of hips. Not that Catra was jealous or anything.

Those pangs of… not jealousy would pass once Adora returned her attention to her, making her laugh with some silly stunt or practicing one of her original songs. 

("I wrote a song about you." Adora had told the feline as she sat herself down on her desk, guitar in hand. "It's named after the spirit animal I see in you."

"Is it called Cats?" Catra quipped. The guitarist paused, slapping her forehead.

"No, damn, that would have been a better title. And song overall." The singer muttered as she tweaked the knobs of her guitar strings. "I should have consulted you on the song-writing process, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

Catra didn't mind. She found "Mice"... touching, in a very Adora way.)

It was during one of these song sessions when Adora had stopped mid-song, clearing her throat, before asking Catra to take a walk with her. The abrupt proposal had caused Catra's heart to leap a little, but she steadied herself as she got up from her revolving chair, exchanging a death glare with Mermista for all the kissy faces the "awwing" accountant was sending her. 

The pair strolled to the nearby park, and if Adora had slipped her fingers into her hand halfway during the walk, Catra pretended not to notice, but her heart did beat a little faster when she recognised the path Adora was taking - it was the route to Lover's Oak, where couples would etch their initials into the bark. 

"Wait." She stopped before they made the final turn, holding the blond back by her hand. "I know where you're bringing me to, but I’d rather you say it now." She continued, raising her free hand to caress the blond's face, stroking a gentle thumb down her reddened cheeks. "We don't need some dumb tree to tell each how we truly feel." Her blue eyes shone with Catra's touch, and Adora opened her mouth, trembling.

"I like you a lot, Catra." Even though she expected those words, hearing Adora's confession still made the feline light-headed. "Like, not a friend kind of "like", but like…" The stammering girl was shushed by a finger placed on her lips.

"I get it." Catra smiled, releasing her finger from the blushing blond. "I like you a lot too." Seeing Adora light up never failed to make Catra's heart jump, just as it did now as the ecstatic girl pulled her into a hug, swinging the smaller lady off her feet.

"Wait, I haven't finished." Catra felt bad ending Adora's joy, but the blond complied, placing the feline back on her feet. "I do like you but…" Catra tapped her foot as she struggled to find the right words to say. "I don't think we should date right now. Not while you're still not over Glimmer."

Adora's crestfallen face turned into one of shock, and she shot a dismissive wave at Catra's worries. "Whatttt. Pssh, I don't have any more feelings for Sparkles." When the feline raised a skeptical eyebrow, Adora persisted. "Really," she crouched down, looking Catra in the eye. "I don't. I'm over her."

Catra hummed, scratching her chin as she considered the blond's promise. _Well, no harm letting her wait… just for a bit, to see if she's really committed._ "Well, I'm not free to go out for lunch with you this week. Or dinner." She added the last part in the nick of time, Adora drawing back a guilty raised finger, Catra grinning at the blond's enthusiasm. "But I should be free this Sunday night. If you ask nicely then, I could join you for a meal… maybe, depending on how I'm feeling." She leaned in, lips almost touching Adora's cheeks, only to retreat at the last moment and whisper into Adora's ear. "You know, I'm partial to women in red. Just saying." With that last flirt, she spun around on her heels and walked off, not even looking back at a gobsmacked Adora.

_This was going to be fun._

…

Unfortunately, Catra was actually quite free that week, and while she didn't want to go on a date with Adora, that didn't mean she didn't want to see her crush at all. She wondered if the poor blond took her words too literally, and thought she really wasn't free to see her.

_Such a shame,_ Catra smirked, _I was kinda hoping to tease her a little more._

"Hey Mermista," Catra called out for the accountant, who was "busy" strolling through Instagram. "Where the heck is Adora? Her shoeshine stand has been empty for three days straight now."

Mermista didn't even take a glance off her screen. "You mean you didn't hear from your lover?" She asked, dodging the pencil Catra threw at her teasing co-worker. "She got into a bad motorcycle wreck on Monday night. Broke an arm and all." Catra just about dropped the new pen she picked up.

"What!" She jumped to her feet, already grabbing her coat. "Where is she?" 

"Brightmoon Hospital, East Wing, Ward 3. Glimmer visited her yesterday." With that information Catra dashed out the door, knocking down an unfortunate Kyle who was in the way.

"Wow, what gives?" Asked the annoyed clerk, dusting his pants as he got up.

"Shut up Kyle." Mermista retorted, remaining entranced by her phone. "She has an injured lover to see."

…

Catra shuddered as she entered the hospital, the awful smell of chlorine already hitting her. She tightened her coat - why were hospitals so darn cold - and hurried down the hallway, aching to see Adora.

When she finally reached Ward 3, she nearly knocked down the door bursting through it. Lying comfortably on the bed was the dumb blond, who was examining her cast as Catra came in.

"Oh hey, check out this cool drawing one of the nurses gave me." Adora smiled at her concerned crush. "I told her warrior princesses made me feel better so she drew one on my cast so I'll take my jab-" her excited rambling over the little picture of a stickman princess holding up a sword was cut short as Catra wrapped her arms around the injured girl.

"Oh Adora, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you call me?" Those blue eyes looked up at her in surprise.

"I mean… you said you weren't free. And I didn't want to bother you." Catra felt her heart crumble with that revelation. She combed her fingers through Adora's hair, admiring the golden locks.

"Oh Adora, even if I was busy I would come to see you. And I wasn't busy." She confessed in a soft tone. "I was just being stupid and wanted to play coy and make you wait." She brought her face closer to Adora's, their noses touching, lips inches apart. "I'm really sorry, can I make it up to you?" The blond hesitated before giving a slight nod, and the gap between them was quickly breached.

Kissing Adora was everything Catra had hoped for, and yet, somehow even better than what she expected. The blond tasted so _good,_ and her tongue was already being so _naughty…_

But the blond pulled back, and Catra stopped their embrace, pausing to catch her breath. "Ok, I'm really sorry but I need to tell you this before we start anything." Adora started, her eyes shifting away from Catra's, a sheepish expression forming over her face. "So yesterday, Glimmer came over and we also kinda kissed-" That was all Catra needed to hear, as she got up and stormed out of the ward.

"Okay, bye." She didn't even look back as Adora reached out for her, jumping out of her bed, only to get caught by the IV tube stuck in her veins. It was for the best - she didn't want to hear it anyways, whatever excuse, whatever apology the _stupid, dumb_ blond had for her.

She walked out of the hospital, leaving its chill behind only to be greeted by the scorching rays of the sun, revealing itself after a week of inclement weather. Catra hissed, shaking off her coat as she hailed for a cab. The sun was the last thing she needed in her life right now. The _stupid, cheating sun_ who fooled her into thinking it ever loved her by performing silly antics and stupid songs. Who won her over with her cheerful attitude despite all odds, only to cast her aside for someone else.

Well, it didn't matter anymore. Catra was done liking the sun. She never wanted it back in her life ever again. 

_Never._

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello She Ra fans, I'm backed with a new fic and new AU universe! (Because I have no self control during this covid crisis)
> 
> As you can tell from Drunk Detective Adora, I see a lot of similarities between the characters of Parks and Recreation and this show, so I've merged the two, focusing these fics on each relationship.
> 
> Adora and Catra follow Andy and April ofc, the sunny X goth pairing. But I also see a lot of similarities with how April handles Andy's betrayal by pushing him away, similar to Catra does to Adora when she "abandons" her. And ofc, Adora is still is a sweet, dumb summer child like Andy. The con to this merge is that Adora gains more of Andy's laid back nature, whereas canon Adora is anything but. I think in this AU without the threat of the Horde and Shadow Weaver's manipulation, Adora doesn't develop her saviour mentality and is thus quite chill. But she does care a lot for her loved ones and will do anything to make things right, as we will find out...
> 
> And I'm worried Glimmer comes off as too mean and a dick in this chapter, probably because it's from Catra's POV. But I promise her AU character is more well rounded and likeable, and will be expended in the next chapter.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you can accept some of these changes so the AU works! Do leave a comment below if you like, and as always, enjoy! :)


End file.
